tchula

Perhaps he is just simply adjusting? Ever since being drafted, he hasn't missed a beat. I'd love to see a recent scouting report on him. In fact, there are a lot of pitchers this year that have encouraging numbers. I really wonder who has a lot of buzz inside the organization. I think we'll have a lot guys in A ball who will either get or get very close to a 100 inning's pitched and a 100 strikeouts this year: Oliver Ortega, Hector Yan, Kyle Tyler, Luis Alvarado, Christopher Molina, Dennis Brady, Robinson Pina, Cole Duensing, Andrew Wantz (I know he's in AA, but started the year in A), and Jose Soriano was well on his way before he got put on the DL. I wonder if any of the above guys (minus Soriano) project as legitimate potential starters. Brady, Pina, Yan, and Ortega are now starting to break into some top 30 lists. Again, whether these guys are projectable or not I have no clue. But we haven't had this level of production and quality pitching in a long time.

I'd opt for Gary Mathews Jr. over Finley ?

I agree about comparing us to other organizations, it is fruitless and inaccurate. But it is still fun to see where the "experts" have us ranked, or at least it is more me. I would though disagree about the last two years draft not looking good. I still have high hopes for both Adams (who's done relatively well considering he's only 19 at Burlington and is incredibly raw) and Jackson has show incredible amount of power. I also feel we got some guys from rounds 3-10 who will be fantastic relievers, and if either Bradish or Hernandez can get decrease the walks both have pure stuff to be solid starters. For this year I think it is way too early to judge one way or the other. Yes, Wilson was not a sexy pick, but outside of him we haven't seen any of the new guys yet. Nevertheless, I think Wilson has shown promise thus far. I do agree Paris is a long ways off because of his age, but he has loads of potential. IMHO Kochanowicz was a great pick and Rivera has great potential as well. I agree our last three international classes have been strong, and our farm is a little bottom heavy at the moment. But I see a lot of good young pitchers at both low and high single A.

There is no doubt La Stella has been awesome. But unfortunately, he's out for a while. I thought his all-star bid was well deserved, but Fletcher didn't even make a blip in the voting. Admittedly, though, I was curious to see if La Stella would continue his same level of production in the second half of the season.

He's a good choice. What a steal.

Do any of you prospect hounds want to make a guess who the biggest risers and fallers have been in our organization? Fallers (guys who will drop or fall out of top 30 all together) 1. Jones (I say he falls about 10 spots) 2. Chris Rodriguez (I say he drops about 10 spots ... only due to uncertainty. He can shoot back up quickly as he drops). 3. Sandoval (about 10-15 spots ... I just don't think he has big league stuff) 4. Castillo (will fall out of top 30 5. Beasily (will fall out of top 30) 6. Kruger (will fall out of top 30) 7. Lund (will fall out of top 30) 8. Swanda (will fall out of top 30) 9. Jewell (will fall out of top 30) Guys who will make a jump. 1. Soriano (top 5 next year) 2. Walsh (top 10-15 next year) 3. Yan (maybe top 10 next year) 4. Franco (maybe top 15 next year) 5. Alvarado (maybe top 20 next year) 6. Molina (maybe top 20 next year) 7. Ortega (maybe top 20 next year) 8. Wantz (maybe top 30) 9. Warren (maybe top 30) Others for consideration: Rainer, Vera, and Moncion. Now, this doesn't include the new guys we drafted. Ultimately I think our top ten will look something like this ... 1. Adell 2. Marsh 3. Soriano 4. Adams 5. Knowles 6. Thaiss 7. Jackson 8. Wilson 9. Yan 10. Kochanowicz Thoughts anyone?

I remember a while back there was a thread asking about the biggest surprise of the year for us. At the end time most said La Stella which was obvious. A handful of us mentioned Fletcher (who at the time had an OPS above .800). I know in the modern era of baseball baseball unless you hit 20 plus HR's and have an OPS over 900 you'll be an after thought. But, this is the first time that Mike Trout this deep in the season has lead the American League in RBI's. We never had a true lead off man in front of him. If you subtract HR's from runs scored, David Fletcher has 43 (only behind Trout with 44). In other words, he gets on base and scores a lot of runs. At this rate, Fletcher is on pace to have a WAR around 5. IMHO, Fletcher deserved all-star consideration this year, but didn't have the pop or flash to draw the attention. I believe next to Trout, David Fletcher has been our most valuable player.

I think we all echo those sediments about Tyler, Angel Oracle. For the last few years, and in particular with the passing of Tyler, I have had this sense that the Angels were a cursed franchise. I remember when Adenhart was killed and what that did the organization. Much of the media failed to mention guys like Valbuena when talking about the recent Angels who died way too young, but I considered the bat flipper an Angel as well when he passed. And maybe I suffer from tunnel vision, because I do not follow the rest of MLB as nearly as close as I follow the Angels. But, it seems to me we have an awful lot of players (current and former) who meet tragic ends, even more than other teams. I could be wrong, but it seems that way to me. In addition, the mountain of injuries that hit our organization is overwhelming. It's so ludicrous we joke about how we should just have all our pitchers get TJ surgery so they can just get it out of the way. For some reason, this organization has just felt a bit cursed or snake bit to me - plagued more so by tragedy and injuries than other organizations (not just baseball but any sport). The passing of Skaggs really shook my love for baseball. I've read about athletes dying before, and even ones on my favorite team. But Skaggs hit me much harder than any other. A lot harder. I made a post about him on this very board just two hours before I read about his death. I still get choked up thinking about it and him. And I am not an emotional person at all. Every morning, like many of you I am sure, after I get up and make coffee I immediately pull up all the Angel's minor league clubs and read how they did the night before. I live in Houston, so often times I crash before the games are complete and am unable to read about them at night. But after Skaggs passed, I've had a hard time doing that. Hell, I couldn't even go near baseball for about a week. I would read to see how the team is doing, but I truly did not care if they won or lost. Just recently, I've started prospect hounding a little more, but some times when I would look up stats on the angels mlb website, my eyes go immediately to the Skaggs stat line, and my stomach would sink a bit and I stopped caring again. But after last nights game, something is a bit different. It's like, the universe or the baseball Gods, or whatever just told me that it is OK to care about baseball again. And because the team probably had it best single day performance in every way on the very night they decided to honor Skaggs signals to me that this team can and will rise above all the tragedy, injuries, and other bullshit and accomplish something special. I am not saying we will win the world series this year, but I feel this team is headed for great things pretty soon. It may not be this year, but it will be soon. It's almost like the Angels just broke their curse. I do not know, maybe I am still a bit buzzed from the euphoria of our performance last night, but something tells me the curse is over.

This has been absolutely heart breaking.

I hope Ausmus realizes he is responsible for some of those bad choices. He pulled Skaggs way to early the other night and brought in the single worst pitcher I could think of to get us out of a jam. I believe in using data (if used correctly), and I buy into the "third time through the rotation" argument. But with that said, Skaggs has pitched well for the most part the past three days and the way he's being handled hasn't worked. For example, I know batters are hitting .320 the third time through the lineup, but that various between the bottom of the line-up and the top of the line-up. Also, if you yank your starter with guys on, do you bring in a reliever who gets more ground-ball outs than fly-outs? I sure hope to hell they look at these stats that much more closely than just "the third time through the order", because for the life of me I can't understand why you put Cahill in that type of situation.

I've been following their rankings for quite sometime and they used to give out 45's like it was Candy. I do not know if they are becoming more stingy with their ratings or are just not that high on the Angels prospects. The best that I can recall, MLB.com has our farm system rated lower than both Keith Law and BA. I am curious to see who moves up and down after the re-rankings. I think next year we should have another top 10 farm system, and depending on the international guys, we could be a top 5 the year after. We are expected to sign two of the top international prospects this year.

Both Kyle Monar and Davis Daniel are interesting cases. I think best case scenario we see Daniel pitch in Orem next year. He'll definitely need an extended spring training. BA says Monar has been throwing bullpen sessions, but the odds of a pitcher ever being anything like they used to after a second Tommy John is low. But then again, that is based off of old data and perhaps rehab and modern medicine will improve his chances. I am curious to see what the scouting reports say on him once he's assigned.

I didn't know he had that type of fastball either, but it doesn't stop there. But let me throw another name at you, or any of the prospects hounds that frequent this thread. Luis Alvarado. Now, I've been watching him closely, and the only scouting report on him I can find is a little blurb from Scout.com (which is nothing more than a fan site because I used to write for them a while back). It says he has a low 90's fastball, and a couple of off-speed pitches. But here's the interesting story on him. He hasn't pitched for very long. He primarily played outfield in college (and would do the occasional relief appearance). He was drafted out of HS, and then again out of college as an outfielder (13th round by Seattle in 2017). Goes back for his senior year to finish school, and Nebraska tries to convert him to a full time starter. He pretty much struggles all year mixed in with the occasional flash of brilliance in April. We pick him in the 17th round last year. He got rocked in rookie ball (remember, he's still continuing his first real year as a pitcher) but puts up decent strike out numbers and walks. The Angels start him in Burlington this year primarily as a starter. And of all the cumulative stats in Burlington, his are the most impressive. Now, his BB/9 is a little high at around 4, but his SS/9 is close to 12, and opponents batting average is below .190. Now, I would love to see a more updated scouting report on him. He's super athletic and has a very projectable frame. I am curious to see if his fastball has gotten better and how our scouts feel about his secondary pitches. Luis Alvarado is the pitcher I think a lot of people are over-looking.

I have found the MLB.com prospect rankings and scouting is quite lazy. For example (and this is just one example), according to BA Luis Madero has the best control in the system. That makes sense to me, afterall, he has a career 2.77 BB/9 in the minors, which is pretty damn solid. Yet, when you look at the mlb.com scout profile Madero's control is listed at 45 which is below average. I used to really watch the mlb.com rankings closely but the more I follow different outlets they are akin to those Lindy's and Athlon college football magazines. Superficial with no real substance.

Comparing someone like Brandon Wood to Adell is comparing apples to oranges. Wood was a top prospect and dominating the minors a year or two before the Mitchell Report came out. I am not saying Wood was juicing, but stuff was going around all over the minors. So, any stat from that era I take with a grain of salt. Yes, it is theoretically possible Adell could crap himself and flame out. It is much more probable, however, that at a minimum he turns out to be somewhere between an above average outfielder with pop and a perennial all-star. The biggest question about Adell coming out of the draft was his ability to hit for average. But, thus far he's show he can hit for average. I imagine he'll be a bit shell shocked when he first gets to the majors, but he'll settle in shortly.

Thanks for the great insight. I have often wondered why the wave of TJ's surgeries that didn't seem to exist prior. You obviously know much more about pitching mechanics than I do. But even then (and correct me if I am wrong) I don't recall that many shoulder surgeries when I followed baseball in the 80's and 90's. Maybe there was and I just do not remember. Regarding the pitch count and inning limit, I also think some of it has to do with stats. I think we are going to see a lot of teams do unorthodox things to increase their chances of winning. We have already seen it in fielding with the shift, and I think the introduction of guys like the designated starter is only the beginning. Maybe that has something to do with it? Or maybe, they want to slowly stretch these guys out (real slowly) and are you using an abundance of caution. Some of the guys on the list were relievers last year after all.

I think we'll have a handful of fringe Top 100's next year. Knowles, Marsh (again), Soriano, maybe Wilson, Adams, and depending how he looks early I wouldn't be surprise to see Jack Kochanowicz get some love. We'll see. I figured our farm system took a bit of a step back this year because some of our best guys graduated and a few other have really struggled. But, on the other hand we've seen a wave a very good pitching at Burlington and IE this year. I'll be curious to see where we are ranked mid-season and next year.

I think the inning's pitch numbers are a bit skewed. So, some of these guys have been slowly stretched out where at the beginning of the year they pitched 3 innings, now they are consistently pitching 5. Some guys who normally start, are also brought into relief situations. Also, because of the sheer number of guys on the roster, some of the starters are platooned. They'll pitch two in one day, each getting them 4 innings of work. I also think they focus more on pitch count than innings pitch. I imagine with the wave of Tommy John's that have hit in the past three years, pitch count is aggressively monitored.

Thank you for the hard work putting this together totdprods. What a fantastic summary! You totally rock. There is after last years draft our pitching got better. Although we have few top of the order arms, we do have a lot of quality arms. I am really waiting to see when our system is re-ranked if some of these guys will make the top 30. Take Oliver Ortega as an example. I think the reason no one's heard of him was because he came from the DSL, only pitched a couple of innings in 2016, didn't pitch in 2017 at all (Tommy John?), was solid last year, and is even better this year. I can see why he's flown under the radar. And his stats are even more impressive because IE is a hitter friendly park. I would love to read a scouting report on him.

I've been hoping Ramirez catches on fire. He was the top international guy we signed last year. I tend to doubt they'll move him stateside this year, but who knows. Who was the youngest guy we moved from DSL? Normally they're 18 aren't they? We are also expected to sign one of the top international guys this year who also has a great frame like Ramirez (Arol Vera).

I just started BBA last year, and like you have been disappointed with two exceptions. Their draft coverage is great, and they go more in depth on International guys than other services. I'll probably cancel after the international signing in July lol. But on a side note, I would love to get someone's thoughts on Andrew Wantz, Austin Warren, Jake Lee, and Stiward Aquino for that matter. Aquino has an incredibly high ceiling, and if they can get his mechanics right, he could develop into a top of the rotation type of a guy.

I saw that last night also. I've had my eye on him since the beginning of the year. We drafted three reliefs guys last year who all basically pitched very well right out of the gate (Andrew Wantz, Austin Warren, and Jake Lee). I've been trying to find out more about each. Where did you read Wantz has a plus slider? I have a BA subscription but am thinking of cancelling. They report a lot of statistics (which I can look at myself) but outside of the top ten players in each organization they do very little scouting it seems.

I guess there is a reason that Glass Joe from punch out is still one of my favorite Nintendo characters of all time.

Hahaha ... what is Albert's real age? Didn't it come out that Ramon Ortiz was actually four years older than he really was or something like that? Of course that is not nearly as bad as the little league world series when 6'2 170 lb "12 year olds" from China are blowing 90mph fastballs across the plate making our poor little potbelly American kids cry on nationally televised games.

Thanks dude ... and I agree they probably relied a little to heavily on Heaney last year. I think, though, it is a bit premature to cut our losses on Skaggs. Unfortunately, I think most of us have lessen our expectations on Skaggs. Now, if some organization offered us a top pitching prospect for Skaggs who is almost major league ready, I would take that trade everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. But, we know that won't happen lol. We have Skaggs under control for the rest of this season and next. I am willing to give him that, and then make a determination of what type of contract he offer him. But, hypothetically speaking ... let's say Skaggs has an ERA of around 4.20 but pitches a 160+ innings. And then let's say next year he puts his great 2018 numbers together with longevity together he produce this year. I know that's a lot of if's, and's, and but's ... but it could happen. OK, granted, it's doubtful, but it is still theoretically possible. But then again, I think I have already established I may be a bit delusional. On a side note, I know Skaggs's performance is frustrating, but I also believe a lot of our rotation problems is because Seth "Tropeano" Rollins and Jamie Barria have completely fallen off the face of the earth.